Libya's electoral commission has told the United Nations it can only start a countdown to national elections after resolution of the question of forming a new government. The United Nations' Libya envoy Abdoulaye Bathily was addressing the United Nations Security Council on Monday after the speaker of Libya's eastern-based parliament issued new electoral laws in the framework of international diplomacy aimed at resolving years of conflict at the ballot box. A standoff between Libya's rival political and armed factions over the interim government has festered since early last year, leading to brief bouts of fighting. Electoral conundrumIn his opening comments on the new electoral laws, Bathily told the Security Council, "From a technical perspective the revised laws are an improvement to the previous drafts. (with newswires)Read more on RFI EnglishRead also:Anti-torture organisation says extrajudicial killings in Libya are endemicLibya's political divide widens as rival PMs vie for powerNuclear inspectors discover tonnes of uranium missing from Libya
